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By Dan A. Brown

This paper describes a method of conducting rapid lateral loading tests of deep foundations in which the load is applied to the foundation with a time duration of less than one second. For purposes of this paper the loading is applied using a pyrotechnic loading system commonly referred to as Statnamic. However, the method should apply to any lateral loading system which produces a force time history with a loading duration of 20 msec to 1 second. The test provides a measure of the dynamic and static response of the soil/foundation system and must be evaluated as a dynamic loading. Interpretation of the test includes a simple single degree of freedom (SDOF) model which can account for the inertial effects of foundation mass, system damping, and static foundation stiffness. The results of the test measurements are compared with four case histories in which comparative static load test data are available, including pile group foundations and large diameter drilled shaft foundations.

Jan 1, 2007

By John F. MacDonald

From 19BS thru the present, Guy F. Atkinson Construction Company has been involved in several transportation construction projects in the Seattle area. Two of these contracts, the Mt. Baker Ridge Tunnel, and The Seattle Bus Tunnel, had unique foundation features. MT. BAKER RIDGE TUNNEL ACCESS PITS The Mt. Baker Ridge Tunnel is part of the general upgrading of the I-90 freeway between I-405 and I-5 (see Fig. 1). It is located on the western shore of Lake Washington and consists of a 1300 foot long large diameter tunnel thru Mt. Baker Ridge. The ridge consists of over consolidated silts and clays overlain by a loose to medium dense silty fine sand. The water table is perched in this upper layer of material. The clays of Seattle have a history of being very sensitive to excavation. The hills are marginally stable and numerous landslides have occurred recently in the area of the tunnel. [ ]

Jan 1, 1990

By Basem Sh. Hazzan

In the last four decades significant effort has been devoted to designing piles in expansive clay soils. Nevertheless, only a scant effort has been devoted to the elimination of heave forces acting on the upper part of lightly loaded piles. For this purpose, an investigation site was established in Karmiel in Northern Israel. On this site sixteen unloaded cast-in-situ piles, both uncoated and coated, were installed in a moderately expansive clay soil in the end of summer 1996. The piles were executed to different depths ranging between 2m and 7m and were observed over a period of 27 months. Another nine unloaded cast-in-situ bored piles were installed at the end of summer 1998 for carrying out pullout tests. These piles were embedded two meters from the ground surface. Results obtained from observations and from full-scale static pull out tests showed that separating the piles from the surrounding clay in the active zone by a twin walled sleeve eliminated the heave forces significantly. The scope of the work is, determining of the elimination degree of the heave forces due to the provision of the above sleeve.

Jan 1, 1999

By Giuliana A. Zelada

This paper reports on a study of 43 compression load tests (five fully instrumented) and ten pullout tests of auger cast-in-place (ACIP) piles in sand. Eight design methods reported in the literature were used to predict the measured pile capacities. Ultimate load capacities of the ACIP load tests were determined using two different definitions of ultimate capacity and compared with predictions. Load transfer behavior was determined from a study of the fully instrumented pile tests and compared to predicted values. Recommendations are made regarding the design approach most appropriate for these foundations and the best procedure for estimating ultimate capacity from pile load tests.

Jan 1, 2000

By Bjöm Böhle

Top-down construction (or cut and cover construction) is providing important advantages when comparing with conventional construction techniques for commercial developments with deep basements, underground car parks or near surface infrastructure and traffic tunnels. Main features are substantially reduced restrictions to surface usage, avoidance of intervention with adjacent property, provision of rigid substructures resulting in minimal deforma­tions and settlements and, last but not least, accelerated construction pro­gramme. The present contribution illustrates the construction method in general and elaborates in detail on the special foundation works for a major urban commercial high rise development requiring a six level basement structure.

Jan 1, 2006

By Alain E. Holeyman

After scoping out the objectives of this general report, the report reviews the three assigned main themes addressed by the papers submitted to the session: pile monitoring, testing, and data processing. It focuses on later developments and on issues requiring clarification, thereby identifying topics for potential discussion. Pile Monitoring does not bring much novelty, except for the integration of IT on construction sites. As far as testing, new developments focus on internal pile loading procedures while more confidence is being gained with dynamic and kinematic load tests. Significant advances are noted in the interpretation of data, where variability of results are coped with, loading rate effects are being better addressed, and more routine use of Finite element analyses are observed. Several many older problems remain while new issues emerge from more recent technologies and approaches.

Jan 1, 2006

By Rick Deschamps

The Block 76 project includes the demolition and redevelopment of an entire city block for mixed use retail, office and residential properties directly adjacent to Historic Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah. Excavation was carried out 65 ft below street grade and by as much as 50 ft directly below adjacent buildings supported by shallow foundations. Movements of the earth retention system and adjacent buildings were monitored in real time using automated equipment which complemented traditional geotechnical instrumentation. In the areas immediately adjacent to the existing buildings 9 stories or greater, anchored diaphragm walls were employed. Areas of the site not supported by diaphragm walls employed a soil nail wall system. Jet grouting was used for water cutoff in lieu of dewatering along the north and east sides of project. In total, the earth retention scope included 45,000 sq. ft of diaphragm wall, 104,000 sq. ft of soil nail wall, and micropile underpinning of 3 buildings. This paper provides an overall description of the Block 76 project. A detailed account is provided of the technical and commercial lessons learned. The project provided a unique example of how an owner can receive best overall value by acceptance of some technical risk up front. Benefit was gained by allowing the contractor to reduce contingencies within the bid from unknowns on a fast-track project.

Jan 1, 2009

By Larry Stearns, Lori Tiefenthaler

Remediation of contaminated soil represents a significant market for application of Deep Soil Mixing (DSM). Eighty-one percent of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Superfund Program’s site remedies have involved contaminated soil. Contaminated soil is frequently treated by In-situ Solidification/Stabilization (ISS). ISS treatment of contaminated soil involves mixing binding agents into soil using DSM techniques. DSM is a core business for many DFI members. Members may improve and broaden their services to clients by learning about the recent ISS treatment of contaminated soil at a Superfund site. ISS treatment is part of the EPA-selected remedy for a Superfund Site in the metro New York City area. The property has seen heavy industrial use for more than a century. Soil at the site is contaminated with a variety of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) including coal tars and heavy metals, principally arsenic and lead. Beginning in 2017 and continuing through 2018, approximately 150,000 cubic yards (115,000 cubic meters) of soil will be treated by ISS at the case study site. Portland cement and slag cement are mixed into the soil by DSM techniques using GPS guided excavators to immobilize the hazardous constituents within the treated soil. ISS treatment by DSM will contribute to redevelopment of this valuable property. This paper will describe ISS constructability and performance, case study grout mix design with geotechnical results for strength and permeability, and deep soil mixing techniques. INTRODUCTION In-situ solidification and stabilization (ISS) is a deep soil mixing (DSM) technique applied in the environmental remediation field to physically encapsulate, or chemically bind, contaminates of concern such that the impacts to human health and the environment are mitigated. Common remediation applications of ISS include mixing cementitious reagents into contaminated soils to form a monolithic mass with desired performance characteristics, and the installation of vertical subsurface walls designed to control groundwater movement. A key characteristic of ISS is that the contaminated soils are treated in their existing location at the project site and then are left in place after treatment. Typical performance characteristics of the ISS treated soils include improved unconfined compressive strength (UCS), reduced hydraulic conductivity (HC), and reduced leaching potential of soil contaminants. Increased shear resistance of the treated soil may also be a performance requirement where seismic loading is a concern.

Jan 1, 2018

By Willie M. NeSmith, W. Morgan NeSmith, Alan Roach

"In 2013, Augered Cast-in-Place (ACIP) piles are a mature foundation technology throughout the United States. General guidelines for the design and construction of ACIP piles are available along with numerous references for design in specific North American geologies. In fact, the current generation of contractors and geotechnical practitioners might view ACIP piles as just another deep foundation option to be considered, along with driven piles, drilled shafts and others. This acceptance has developed, however, over a 60-plus year period.The term, Augered Pressure-Grouted (APG) pile is often used when referring to ACIP piles because the piles emerged out of construction processes at the Intrusion-Prepakt firm in the late 1940s. The company’s specialty was pressure grouting and preplaced aggregate concrete. The grouting was typically accomplished by driving a pipe to a target level and then injecting grout under pressure. In some soil conditions, it was necessary to use an auger to reach the desired grouting depth. In these circumstances, the grout pipe was driven beside the auger and grout was pumped as the auger was withdrawn. The grout pipe was then withdrawn as well. This was the genesis of the APG, or ACIP pile, and many piles were installed using this technique. The patent application, “Method for Forming Piles” was filed by Raymond Patterson of Intrusion-Prepakt in 1951, and the patent was granted in 1956. The process was eventually modified when a suitable hollow-stem auger was developed. Licenses were granted to the Lee Turzillo Contracting Company and Berkel & Company Contractors, Inc. in the late 1950s. Each of the three companies Patent, LicensesThe patent application, “Method for Forming Piles” was filed by Raymond Patterson of Intrusion-Prepakt in 1951, and the patent was granted in 1956. The process was eventually modified when a suitable hollow-stem auger was developed. Licenses were granted to the Lee Turzillo Contracting Company and Berkel & Company Contractors, Inc. in the late 1950s. Each of the three companies coined their own terms for the piling process: “Pakt-In-Place” for Intrusion-Prepakt, “Auger Pressure-Grouted” for Berkel and “Augercast” for Turzillo. Over time, “Augercast” was frequently used as a generic term for the system. The installation of these piles was, and still is, a highly nuanced process; “contractor dependent” is a term often seen today. Intrusion-Prepakt, Berkel and Turzillo all had personnel who were part of the original group that developed the system and who appreciated the craftsmanship involved in forming sound piles."

Jan 1, 2013

By Peter Florian

At 5:50 am on October 1, 1992, the new $800 million Pittsburgh International Airport Midfield Terminal opened its gates to the world after five years of construction and more than 24 years of planning. Despite numerous design changes, this massive project was completed on time and substantially within budget. The importance of this airport to Allegheny County and the Pittsburgh region was recognized 24 years earlier by Allegheny County Commissioners Tom Foerster and the late Leonard Staisey. Staisey and Foerster established a program to acquire land for the "Airport of the Future".

Jan 1, 1993

By Li Keqiang

This paper discusses the pile foundation of tall buildings in Shenzhen region. For 156 constructed tall buildings exceeding 18 storeys, about 86. 5 per cent of the sum. The two main types of foundation used are the semi?machine?bored/slurry drilled cast?in?situ pile and the excavation pile (hand ?dug caisson). The engineering geologiical condition in Shenzhen was analysed. In general, the bed rock level is not too deep. It belongs to hard rock, but the geologic structure is more complex and the tectonic fissures is plenty. According to experiences of the researches, tests, designs and constructions of pile foundation, we present the basic design principle of pile foundations for tall buildings as follows; (1) pile strength control to select the pile type and to choice the cross sectional dimen­sions, must be in compliance with the strength of the pile. (2) bearing stratum strongly weathered, moderartely weathered and slightly weathered rock may be used as the bearing stratum. (3) bearing pile bored /drilled cast-in-situ pile designed as an end bearing pile. (4) friction pile precast concrete pile, prestressed concrete tubular pile and driven cast-in-situ pile designe as a friction pile. In case, pile design is in compliance with these principles, it may be safe, economical and reasonable.

Jan 1, 1991

By Jared M. Green

This paper presents the wall stabilization design and implementation for a 541 linear ft masonry and concrete gravity-type retaining wall flanking the west perimeter of a 7.37 acre parcel in Bronx, New York. This paper will discuss the results of static and dynamic stability analyses performed for the pre- and post excavation phases for the proposed 300 ft wide open-cut of up to 14 ft of contaminated soil below the toe of the retaining wall. The wall stabilization consisted of over 74 inclined drilled and grouted anchor dowels, and 55 tiebacks drilled and grouted to the underlying mica schist bedrock. Three over-lapping rows of jet grout columns were chosen as the foundation solution for the existing retaining wall. This paper focuses on the design, construction and performance of the jet grout curtain wall. The jet grout wall served three purposes: 1) underpinning and excavation support for the removal of contaminated site soils, 2) permanent hydraulic barrier, and 3) resistance against a deep seated failure within the thick clay layer present at the site. The originally designed jet grout wall had unexpected negative effects to the existing retaining wall. The jet grouting program was modified while the Observational Method (Peck 1969) was employed to keep wall movements to a minimum. This paper discusses the diagnostic methods used to determine the cause of retaining wall movement; the implementation of a remedial ground improvement program; the modification to the jet grout installation procedure; and the ultimate performance of the jet grout wall.

Jan 1, 2011

By Roderic A. Ellman

The new Woodrow Wilson Bridge (WWB) will replace the existing bridge over the Potomac River to connect Alexandria, Virginia to Prince Georges County, Maryland. The new WWB will extend approximately 1.1 miles across the river, with a 367-ft long bascule span in the main river channel where the water depth is about 36 ft. The subsurface soil profile consists of up to 50 ft of a soft organic silty clay layer that is very vulnerable to scour, underlain by a deep deposit of hard sandy clay. Foundation construction in the Potomac River required the use of cofferdams to allow structural concrete work to be performed in the dry. This paper will the present the types of cofferdams used to construct the foundations for the WWB replacement project. The bridge is primarily comprised of fixed spans in relatively shallow water and a bascule span over a navigation channel in relatively deep water. Foundation construction included the installation of 48? to 72? open end steel pipe piles and cast-in-place concrete pile caps. To achieve the desired bridge appearance, pile caps were required to extend below the water surface and below the existing river bottom in shallow water locations. Conventional steel sheet pile cofferdams with tremie concrete seal were used to construct fixed span, shallow water piers. Selection of deep water bascule span foundation cofferdams was governed by several factors including contraction scour, environmental considerations and cost. Potomac River cofferdams, i.e., relatively shallow depth cofferdams that are supported by the foundation piling were selected. This cofferdam system provided a shallow profile which minimized contraction scour and the amount of filling in the river. Design issues include load selection and cofferdam stability in very soft alluvial soils. Construction issues include erection sequence, tremie concrete mix design and placement procedures.

Jan 1, 2013

By J. C. W. M. de Wit

An excavation, within which a tunnel is sunk as a part of the Centraal Station underground station (platform section) of the Noord/Zuidlijn ('North/South Line'), is to be created beneath the Amsterdam Centraal ('Amsterdam Central') station. The section beneath Amsterdam Centraal Station is characterised by the application of a particular technology in the form of, inter alia, the so-called 'sandwich wall'. This is a composite wall consisting of two rows of Tubex piles with a body of jetgrout columns in-between. This wall acts both as an excavation support wall and also provides vertical bearing. The installation of the wall, including both Tubex piles and jetgrout columns, within these specific conditions (limited height, sensitive historical building), within the design requirements set in terms of construction tolerance and water and soil retention, may be regarded as being a pioneering achievement. The environmental constraints are that the trains should continue to run, the inconvenience to passengers should be kept to a minimum and the historic station should not suffer any damage. Because of the complexity of the working conditions, the project is being overseen by a steering group of experts in the specified construction processes. In order to manage the project risks, jet grouting trials were initially carried out, in order to highlight and control execution problems; the practicability of the design is then tested. Work commenced on the sandwich wall in 2003, when the wooden piles were extracted at the locations where the sandwich wall was to be constructed; in 2004, the steel Tubex piles for the southern wall sections were installed. From May 2005, the construction of the sandwich wall got under way; in addition to the described process supervision, an extensive measuring programme was established, so that the process could be adjusted as necessary and the quality of the finished product determined. This applied to both individual columns and for the end product, the sandwich wall. The measurement results were processed for each column, interpreted and the effect on the work still to be conducted was assessed for each future column. Preventative and corrective measures were, if necessary, taken in order to control or counteract the measured defect. In addition to the process-oriented and qualitative measurements, various independent measurement systems at the station building served as a further control in order to prevent damage to the building.

Jan 1, 2006

By B. H. Moore

The opportunity to evaluate the pile design procedures used on a major project is an infrequent occurrence. It is even more infrequent that the project involves piles with significant tension and horizontal capacities. This report synopsizes over twenty years of design and construction experience on just such a major pile founded structure. The philosophy governing foundation design procedures is described and discussed. The order and extent of full scale pile testing are evaluated. Principal points in the specifications are established and their effect on construction progress and claims are noted. The report concludes with recommendations for future projects.

Jan 1, 2010

By Tobias Hansson

The quality of Lime Cement (L/C) columns is to a great extent dependent on the installation procedure. At a site in the south of Sweden, the client reported problems with the installed columns. To evaluate the operator and equipment dependent part of the installation, Hercules Grundläggning AB was appointed as a competitor to the site contractor. The purpose was to install a number of L/C columns with equal installation parameters for both contractors. A total of 65 test columns were installed in June 1999. The geology is a typical Swedish organic soil profile with a top layer of peat overlying gyttja and clay. Two different binders were used in the comparison; blast furnace slag with cement and lime with cement. After installation, the quality of the columns was monitored by penetration tests and a column sampler for extracting whole columns. The column penetration test were performed 28 and 134 days after installation and extraction 134 days after installation. Inspection and tests of the extracted columns showed that by using a fully computer controlled procedure, the contractor produces columns of superior quality and homogeneity.

Jan 1, 2000

By Maurizio Siepi, Stefano Trevisani, Pagliaccim Federico, Daniele Vanni

"Abstract: The paper describes a large innovative project completed in 2012-20123 by Trevi Group, to develop equipment capable to install ultra-deep diaphragm wall. The project highlights the capacity of SOILMEC to design and build a new hydromill able to reach an unprecedented depth of 250 m, including new devices for monitoring and correct the verticality. The entire project can take advantage of the long and solid experience matured by Trevi and Rodio (now part of Trevi Group), developing in house or, else, select the elements necessary for a high quality product in the ground.The paper describes the results of different systems used to monitor and control the verticality and the twist of panel during excavation, together with the method used to pour concrete. Finally, the results of verification coring and lab tests on concrete samples recovered at various depths are discussed. The test field has been supervised by representatives of three of the major Italian Universities, and lasts almost one year from August 2012 to June 2013.The verification holes made use of an innovative combination of directional drilling and coring, to check the quality of the plastic concrete for the full length of the panel. The data confirmed that the test panel has high quality concrete, meeting or exceeding to the prefixed requirements.With this test, super-deep cut-off walls reaching depths of 250 m have become a reality. This would change the perspectives of dam engineering both for existing dams rehabilitation and for new dams design and construction. With the execution of this test panel, the technology of milled concrete cutoffs has made a ”quantum leap”, pushing the limit of practicable dams."

Jan 1, 2014

By Bret N. Lingwall, Byron Foster

The problem of reliable extreme event modeling of large diameter piles under enormous structural or kinematic loads has gained more attention in recent years. In particular, the soil response around the foundation and impacts to buried adjacent infrastructure has gained interest. One of the principal shortcomings with analysis of large diameter pile foundations under extreme event lateral loading is the reliance on conventional beam on elastic foundation methods, which do not model the soil field response around the pile. These methods are limited for large displacement problems, and for large diameter piles. However, the fundamental interactions between steel and concrete, and structure to soil are difficult to constrain, especially in large strain problems where the structural elements become inelastic. The non-linear interaction of the structural materials and soil is desirable so that assessment of stress changes in the field and effects on adjacent facilities can be modeled. A numerical modeling methodology that addresses these shortcomings has been developed. This method utilizes the interaction of brittle concrete with discrete steel reinforcing and casing in a robust manner capturing inelastic non-linearity in both soil and structure. This paper presents a comparison study of the method, wherein three different validation studies were made to data from full scale laterally loaded pile testing. INTRODUCTION Extreme event lateral loading of deep foundations comes in many forms including earthquakes, landsliding, tsunamis, hurricanes, surface fault rupture, liquefaction induced lateral spreads and many more. These extreme events induce loads on foundations far greater than service or strength loads. Perhaps the most dangerous extreme event loads are those of large soil displacements such as landslides, lateral spreads, and surface fault rupture, wherein the soil surrounding the foundations can move laterally 100 mm to 3 m! In these extreme event loading scenarios, small diameter foundations are pushed past their limits and many engineers prefer large diameter deep foundations for these situations. These deep foundations of diameter 900 mm or greater may be auger cast in place piles, cast in drilled hole piles, cast in steel shell piles, cased or uncased drilled shafts, bored precast piles, etc. For convenience in this paper, large diameter deep foundations will be referred to as Large Diameter Shafts (LDS). In LDS, steel may or may not used as a shell around the perimeter of the concrete and/or as internal tensile reinforcement. The interaction between brittle concrete and ductile steel within and/or along the perimeter of the LDS is critical to understanding the non-linear inelastic behavior of LDS for problems of large lateral displacements from extreme events.

Jan 1, 2018

By Cory J. E. Yacyshyn

Anchored steel pipe piles are being used more frequently in British Columbia for shoreline projects such as public ferries, cruise ship docks, containership terminals and locally in the expansion of the Vancouver waterfront convention center. While a 36? diameter driven pile may provide adequate compression loads it will not always achieve enough penetration to provide the required tension loading. That is why bundles of threaded anchors or strands are drilled through the center, past the pile tip, and anchored into the underlying strata. Drilling up to 250 feet deep through the piles in variable water bearing strata presents challenges. Southwest Contacting Ltd. (SWC) recently completed the three largest anchored pile projects in BC; Vancouver Port and Convention Center Expansion, Vanterm Container Terminal and the new Prince Rupert Cruise Ship Terminal. This paper will present the separate challenges encountered drilling the anchors. At Prince Rupert, the recently completed Northland Cruise Ship Dock ultimately required a cased system to drill and install triple thread bar anchors. When 200 foot long steel pipe piling was unable to penetrate the highly fractured gneiss/schist bedrock to obtain a seal and consolidation grouting was unsuccessful, a modified cased system was advanced deep enough into the rock to eventually seal. The 3-#20 bars were changed to 12-strands since the bars wouldn?t fit through the smaller cased hole. The options were limited because each dolphin only had enough room for a small hydraulic drill rig that wouldn?t have the power to fully case the holes. The Canada Place Pier Extension in Vancouver?s Harbor led to the development of an innovative tip design used later at Vanterm. The 36? diameter steel pipe piles were driven closed end but modified to permit drilling through a concrete plug at the base. The driving of the piles at Canada Place often knocked out the plug so we were faced with 50 feet of sand up inside the pile when the drilling started. This led to discussions on how to safely remove the sand, solidify the tip, and continue drilling to get past the tip without undermining the pile. Finally, Vanterm Berth Extension was completed with a unique drilling system because the pile tips stopped in hydraulic sands, as opposed to the native till. We were faced with advancing the casing to the till without undermining the base of the pile. With 100 psi water pressure at the pile base after we broke through the concrete plug, the trick was to prevent charging the sand with our 250 psi air which liquefies it and forced it up our drill casing. And of course, it has to happen just before Christmas holidays!

Jan 1, 2004

This work shall consist of furnishing and driving foundation piles of the type and dimensions designated on the plans or in the special provisions including cutting off or building up foundation piles when required. This specification also covers providing test piles and performing loading tests. Piling shall conform to and be installed in accordance with these specifications, and at the location, and to the elevation, penetration and bearing capacity shown on the plans or as directed by the Engineer. Except when test piles are required, the Contractor shall furnish the piles in accordance with the dimensions shown on the plans or special provisions. When test piles are required, the pile lengths shown on the plans are for estimating purposes only and the actual lengths to be furnished for production piles will be determined by the Engineer after the test piles have been driven. The lengths given in the Engineer's order list will include only the lengths anticipated for use in the completed structure. The Contractor shall, with-out added compensation, increase the lengths shown or ordered to provide for fresh heading and for such additional length as may be necessary to suit his method of operation.

Jan 1, 1989